A new series of interactive orchestral concerts broadcast by the BBC shows a willingness to create extra content and engage a new audience
In a turnaround of the usual protocol, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra has launched an initiative encouraging people to turn on their mobile phones during a performance.
The Red Brick Sessions, nine concerts at the University of Salford’s Peel Hall, are being presented interactively. As well as being live streamed on the Philharmonic’s website, the audience will be able to access a raft of features and extra information.
If you want to see what the string section is up to, for example, you can zoom in on certain parts of the orchestra, learn more about them and listen to the sound from that section alone.
There are also programme notes, displayed in sync, telling you more about the music – its background, facts and points of interest. In addition to all that, the audience can follow along with the live musical score.
And it’s not just for people watching at home. Those in attendance are prompted to explore the orchestra and cast their eyes over the extra information available via their phones or tablets as the music plays.
A duet of watching and interacting
The idea aims to breathe new life into BBC classical performances, and add a new selection of content to the offering.
In a traditional and potentially old-fashioned medium such as classical music performance, the BBC, in conjunction with the University of Salford, is aiming to refresh its presentation, with content as the key.
Duel screening is now a regular part of how we consume media, particularly television. As a programme or event unfolds, people are commenting on Twitter or researching around the topic.
And, like any good piece of content marketing, the Red Brick Session extras enable and control this activity – keeping it ‘in-house’ and on the site.
Conducting the flow
One of the interesting things about the interactive features is that instead of driving traffic to a site or service, the content is designed to keep hold of its audience.
After two of the nine concerts, the move has gone down well and gained positive feedback on social media. The content itself is not eminently shareable, but it attracts more people to tune in, while refreshing the viewers it already has.
And if it’s done well enough, people will be motivated to share their own thoughts and insights on the project.
Comments on Twitter like “adds so much value” and “a simple concept, brilliantly executed” show an appreciative audience.
The BBC’s stated mission is to ‘inform, educate and entertain’, and this added content is all part of an attempt to fulfil this brief in its coverage of Philharmonic concerts.
It is also a useful motto for content marketers everywhere. Whether driving clicks or holding on to the audience with extra content, effective content marketing will enthuse and energise any audience. Sometimes the song remains the same, it’s the variations that make it ring out.
